Graduation rates for black and Hispanic students at minority-serving institutions Journalist's Resource: Research for Reporting, from Harvard Shorenstein Center: The United States is home to 106 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), institutions created to educate black students in the eras of slavery and Jim Crow. Most HBCUs continue to serve majority-black student bodies although they are open to applicants of all races. In addition to HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) represent another category of minority-serving institution. HSIs, which number in the hundreds, have student bodies that are at least 25% Latino and typically serve low-income students.
Minority-serving institutions often fare poorly on measures of student outcomes. For example, on the Forbes list of the “25 Colleges with the Worst Return On Investment,” 7 of the 25 schools listed are HBCUs. Additionally, a report from the University of Pennsylvania found that only 30% of students at HBCUs graduated in six years, well below the average of 55% for students of all races and slightly below the average of 37.5% for black students at all U.S. colleges. A white paper from the College Board reports that the average six-year graduation rate for students at HSIs was 35% in 2008 compared to a national average of 40% for Latino students at all colleges.
